Latest / Nero: Mad Tyrant or Misunderstood Emperor? — Fexingo History / Nero's Olympic Dream: The Emperor Who Cheated at the Games
Transcript
- Lucas: So we've covered a lot of Nero — his building projects, the fire, the Pisonian conspiracy, even his tax reforms. But there's one episode that really captures his theatrical side, and it's something he actually did that no Roman emperor had ever attempted before: he competed in the Olympic Games. Luna: Wait, seriously? A Roman emperor actually showed up and ran races? Lucas: Not just ran races — he competed in multiple events. And he won. Every single one. But the story is a lot more complicated than that. This was in AD 67, during his grand tour of Greece, and Nero had a deep love for Greek culture — especially music and athletics. He saw himself as a true philhellene, and he wanted to prove it by participating in the crown games, which were the pinnacle of Greek athletic and artistic competition. Lucas: The Olympic Games were the most prestigious, but there were also the Pythian Games at Delphi, the Isthmian Games at Corinth, and the Nemean Games. Nero actually had the Olympics postponed by a year so they'd fit into his travel schedule, which was already an outrageous breach of tradition. Luna: So he literally moved the Olympics to suit his itinerary? That's audacious. Lucas: Exactly. And not only that — he had the entire program of the games altered to include musical and theatrical contests, which weren't part of the traditional Olympic program. He entered the competition as a lyre player, a herald, a tragic actor, and a charioteer. In the chariot race, he drove a ten-horse team, which was almost unheard of — most charioteers used four horses. Suetonius says he actually fell out of the chariot during the race and had to be helped back in, but he still won. Luna: He fell out and they still gave him the win? Lucas: That's the thing — the judges were under enormous pressure. Nero had brought a huge entourage, including the Praetorian Guard, and he'd showered the officials with gifts and bribes. Cassius Dio records that the judges were terrified of what would happen if they didn't award him the victory. So he won every event he entered, including a lyre competition where he performed a piece he'd composed himself called 'The Destruction of Troy'. The audience was required to applaud in a specific, coordinated way — they had claquers planted in the crowd. Luna: So it was basically a fixed performance. Did anyone call it out? Lucas: Privately, plenty of Greeks and Romans were horrified. But publicly, they praised him. The Greek cities erected statues and voted him all sorts of honors. Nero was so thrilled that he declared the freedom of the province of Achaea at the Isthmian Games in Corinth — a massive propaganda move. He gave the Greeks back their 'liberty', which meant they didn't have to pay tribute to Rome, but really it was a way to cement his image as a benefactor. Lucas: This whole episode fits into a bigger pattern with Nero. He genuinely admired Greek culture — he spoke Greek fluently, he patronized Greek artists, and he wanted Rome to embrace the Greek ideal of the performer-emperor. But Roman traditionalists saw it as undignified. Cicero and earlier writers had dismissed Greek athletics as frivolous, and here was the emperor of Rome prancing around in a Greek himation, competing like a commoner. Luna: I can imagine how that played in the Senate. They must have been mortified. Lucas: Absolutely. Cassius Dio says that the senators who accompanied him were embarrassed and actually tried to avoid watching. But Nero didn't care. He was so proud of his victories that he commissioned a special triumphal arch in Rome depicting him in his chariot, and he brought back 1,808 victory crowns from the Greek games — a number Suetonius records. He also instituted a new festival in Rome called the Neronian Games, modeled on the Greek ones, with musical and athletic contests. Luna: And all of this was just a few years before his fall. It's like he was living in a fantasy world. Lucas: It's a good point. The Olympic tour happened in AD 67, and by AD 68 he was dead. Looking back, his Greek adventure seems like a last hurrah — a moment of pure theatrical glory before everything collapsed. But it also reveals something about his character: he wasn't just a tyrant or a madman. He was a performer who desperately wanted to be loved, and the Greek games gave him that adulation, even if it was bought and staged. Luna: You know, speaking of shows that need support — a couple of dollars a month is genuinely what keeps these going. If you've gotten something out of our episodes, buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo really does make a difference. It keeps us ad-free and lets us dive into weird corners like this. Lucas: Yeah, absolutely. It's a small thing that adds up. And we're grateful to everyone who helps. Anyway — back to Nero. So after his Greek triumph, he returns to Rome in a kind of extended triumph, with a procession of his crowns and the announcement of Greek freedom. But the reaction at home was mixed. The Roman people loved a spectacle, but the elite were uneasy. Lucas: We should also mention that Nero's Olympic adventure had a lasting impact on the games themselves. The tradition of including artistic competitions at Olympia actually continued for some time after Nero. And the fact that an emperor could bend the games to his will showed how much power Rome had over Greek institutions. But it also highlighted the decline of the games' integrity — bribery and political interference became more common in later centuries. Luna: So in a way, Nero's cheating foreshadowed the eventual end of the ancient Olympics? Lucas: In a sense, yes. The games continued for another three centuries, but the ideal of fair competition was eroded. Nero's example showed that if the emperor could get away with it, others would try. And the later Roman emperors — like Domitian and Hadrian — also got involved in the games, but more as patrons than participants. Nero remains unique as the only emperor who actually stepped into the arena and competed. Luna: And he won. I still can't get over that. Lucas: He won, and the official records of Olympia listed him as a victor. Ancient inscriptions from Olympia actually mention Nero's victories, though some later Greek writers like Philostratus tried to downplay them. The Olympic victor lists were maintained for centuries, and Nero's name is there, alongside athletes from all over the Greek world — a permanent reminder of that bizarre moment when a Roman emperor became an Olympic champion. Luna: It's almost like a cautionary tale about what happens when power and spectacle mix too closely. Lucas: Exactly. And it's a great example of why Nero remains so fascinating — he's not just a monster or a madman. He's a complex figure who genuinely loved Greek culture, but whose ego and insecurity led him to debase the very things he admired. His Olympic adventure is a perfect microcosm of his reign: a mix of genuine passion, theatrical genius, and utter corruption. Luna: I think that's a good place to leave it. Thanks for joining us. Lucas: Thanks for listening. We'll be back next time with another story from the ancient world.